Dehradun, June 15
The Planning Commission has approved Rs 6,800 crore as annual plan outlay of 2010-11 for Uttarakhand besides announcing an additional assistance of Rs 360 crore. The plan outlay sanctioned by the Planning Commission is Rs 1,225.50 crore more than the last year.

At a meeting held yesterday in New Delhi, the outlay was approved after a detailed discussion between Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, and Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.

Out of this outlay, 33.18 per cent will be spent on the social infrastructure and social welfare sector. Among other sectors, 29.16 per cent has been kept for the physical infrastructure, 23.12 per cent for general services, 7.5 per cent for agriculture and allied areas and 7.3 per cent for rural development.

However, the state government’s demand to enhance the Central assistance in the ratio of 90:10 (Centre:state) and extending industrial package till 2020 were not met.

The state government had also demanded a special Central assistance of Rs 500 crore for potable water schemes and also demanded a sum of Rs 5,000 crore, as Green Bonus. Dr Nishank stressed that for an all-round development of the Himalayan states, The 13th Finance Commission appreciated the financial management of the state government and sanctioned a sum of Rs 1,000 crore as incentive to the state.

Dr Nishank has demanded Central assistance under infrastructure development to develop and expanding the air strips at Pitthoragarh, Pantnagar, Chinayalisaur (Uttarkashi), Gauchar (Chamoli) and Dehradun.

“Northeastern states have benefited immensely from the Central assistance where three green field airports are being developed. It will help in building infrastructure in areas which share international borders,” he said highlighting areas that required generous doses of the Central help.

The Chief Minister, who returned from Delhi today, made these observations at a press conference.

In the interest of the state, the Chief Minister also suggested that allocations made under the Border Areas Development Plan (BADP) should also include 26 development blocks and also the amount should be raised to Rs 22 crore under the plan. “States of Jammu Kashmir and Punjab are receiving adequate aid under the Border Area Development Plan while it is grossly inadequate for Uttarakhand,” he said.

Referring to the sanctioned Rishikesh-Karnprayag and Muzaffarnagar-Roorkee rail lines the Chief Minister said: “Keeping in view the limited resources of the small state, the liability of the state government should be only up to making land available for it and expenditure should be fully borne by the Centre. As 77 per cent area in the state is hilly, the norms for development projects and social services should be different,” he emphasised. 

Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said the government would not hesitate to move the Supreme Court in order to get its legitimate share in the 2,400 MW Tehri hydro power project.

He said the government would be forced to take the step if the Central government failed to transfer 25 per cent share of UP in the power from the dam to the hill state.

“As per the formula of “as it is, where it is” basis, Uttarakhand has a legitimate share as the dam lies in Uttarakhand. We will then get nearly 250 MW of additional power since the dam has the current capacity of producing 1,000 MW,” he said

The Chief Minister for the first time also admitted that the industrial package is on in the state minus the excise exemption. “We would like the excise exemption package to be extended to Uttarakhand once again,” he stressed.

Dehradun, June 15
The Maha Kumbh has affected the flow of tourists to the Rajaji National Park, famous for its elephants. As the park closed for monsoon today, its officials said the count of its visitors had fallen by almost 3,000 this year, as wildlife lovers found it best to avoid Hardiwar and Dehradun districts since these were crowded with pilgrims.

Rajaji National Park Director SS Raisaily, while addressing mediapersons here, said the Kumbh had been the main reason behind lesser number of tourists’ visits to the park. This year, 15,520 tourists visited the park, of whom 1,935 were foreign tourists. Last year, the tourist count was as high as 18, 891, including 2,071 foreigners.

Interestingly, the total revenue earned by the park this year has touched Rs 34 lakh, whereas last year it was a little more than Rs 27 lakh. This rise in revenue despite the dip in visitors’ count is because of the recent hike in rest house and day visit charges. The day visit charges for Rajaji has been hiked to Rs 250 from Rs 100 for domestic tourists, while for foreigners it has been raised from Rs 300 to Rs 600.

Raisaily said, “Visitors to Rajaji Park are mostly wildlife and peace lovers. The unprecedented rush in Haridwar due to the Maha Kumbh and the unavailability of mode of transport to reach the park were some factors that discouraged visitors from coming to the park.” He added Chila, Ranipur and Motichoor continued to be the most sought-after tourist zones.

To ward off the ongoing water crisis in the park, Raisaily informed TNS that a total of 125 small and big ponds had been created inside the park to fulfil the needs of the wildlife.

He said these water bodies were constructed with the help of Rs 34-lakh contingency plan, which was approved by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. He added that arrangements had been made at Dhaulkhand and Berwada to ensure availability of good quantity of water.

Nainital, June 15
Expressing dismay at the neglect of the conservation of the Naini Lake and the horrible sight that followed a spell of rain and sleet recently, noted environmentalist and Padam Shri awardee Dr Ranjit Bhargava has sought a Parliamentary Audit of the utilisation of funds sanctioned for the lake conservation.

Dr Bhargava has also sought the intervention of Governor Margaret Alva, the Uttarakhand High Court and Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank in the matter.

Talking to The Tribune, Dr Bhargava expressing deep concern said, “This is a perfect case for Parliamentary Audit. The Centre must seek an explanation on every penny that has been given for the conservation of this lake”.

Hitting out at the functionaries of the administration and the Lake Development Authority, he said, “They are committing a crime against nature as well as tourists”.

Dr Bhargava has been one of pioneers of the founding of the National Lake Conservation Plan in 1995, when 11 lakes, including the Naini Lake, were identified for conservation.

“The Environment Ministry must seek an explanation on the matter,” he said.

An hour-long spell of heavy rain accompanied by sleet on Thursday had resulted in tonnes of muck finding its way into the lake. The much-touted claims of the administration on cleanliness preparations flew in its face as sewerage flowed on the Mall Road gushing towards the lake. As soon as the rain stopped, the Naini Lake stood out as an apology for its reputation as plastic bags, gutka covers and other trash floated on the survey much to the disgust of the tourists who had gone boating in the lake.

Appalled at the laxity of officials responsible for maintaining cleanliness, Kumaon Commissioner Kunal Sharma and District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli took officials to task and issued a new set of instructions to the officers of these departments. But instructions had also been issued way back in March and the impact was visible to all on Thursday.

A special cleanliness drive was also undertaken on Friday morning at the Naini Lake under the leadership of Bagauli. Sharma has asked the officers of Jal Nigam and Jal Sansthan to immediately get the sewer lines cleaned and water removed from areas, where it has collected along with the filth. He has also ordered that the flow of water in rain water drains and the sewerage lines be segregated on war footing.

Dr Bhargava has ridiculed the point of view coming from the administration that the muck had resulted from the dirt that had got collected on rooftops and had found its way through the drains. “One cannot believe that plastic bags, wafer packets and plastic bottles would be gathered on rooftops in tonnes,” he said.

Residents of the town are blaming the non accountability of Nagar Palika and administration functionaries for the episode. ”It is a well-known fact that the dirt is collected from residential areas only to be dumped in rain water drains. Nobody cares for what is happening,” said a shopkeeper in Mallital.

Dehradun, June 15
Corbett Tiger Reserve has been closed for visitors due to the approaching monsoon. The famous Dhikala zone that symbolises the opening and closing of Corbett was made out of bound for tourists from today. This most sought-after zone of the park will now reopen on November 15.

Dhikala closure will be followed by the closing of Bijrani Sonanadi and Domunda zones on June 30. Sources did not rule out extending the reopening dates of the park, if the monsoon gets delayed.

This season, from April 2009 to March 2010, the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve was visited by nearly 1.98 lakh domestic tourists leading to revenue of Rs 4.44 crore. Interestingly, last year, Corbett had 2.2 lakh tourists and earned revenue up to Rs 3.6 crore.

Interestingly, like Rajaji, Corbett, too, had fewer number of visitors this time. However, the authorities claimed that while the figures provided by them were till March-end, the number of visitors during April, May and the first fortnight of June were still to be counted. “The figure could be more higher than 1.98 lakh,” the sources pointed out.

Significantly, the charges of rest houses and other accommodations in Corbett have increased phenomenally, hence, raising its revenue earnings.

Dehradun, June 15
A national NGO, Talent Enablers, will soon conduct a dance workshop to promote sports, art, culture and environment among children of Dehradun. This will be done under the aegis of the Shiamak’s Victory Art Foundation.

The organisation aims at fulfilling Shiamak’s mission of “Have feet, will dance” and “Have spirit, will triumph” by spreading the joy of dance, using it as therapy, empowering participants with confidence and self-belief.

While addressing the media here today, Talent Enablers’ president Richa Jauhari said, “We will conduct special classes for around 100 physically and mentally challenged, visual impaired, deaf and dumb, terminally ill and economically backward children and youth free of cost. Our aim is to empower such under-privileged children, especially from Loharwala, Balveer Road, Bindal and Sapera basti slums. To maximize the impact of this workshop for a long period of time, we are also training teachers of various institutes here”.

“This dance workshop will provide them an opportunity to do just whatever they want. Through this workshop, we are also reaching out to the children of rural areas, who are otherwise deprived of such opportunities,” she said.

The dance workshop would begin from June 23 till July 9 at The Doon School. The workshop is open for the people aged between four-64 years. The participants of the workshop would perform on July 11 at the auditorium of The Doon School. 

Nainital, June 15
Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva met a group of differently-abled children from Rama Montessori School here at Raj Bhawan here today. She talked to them about their friends, families, hobbies and education.

Teachers from the school, who had accompanied the children under the leadership of the Principal Neelu Alhens, told the Governor that their institution provided English-medium education to children from weaker sections of the society.

The children, who met Alva, included seven-year-old Bhaskar, nine-year-olds Kanchan Natwal and Aarish Khan and 11-year-old Kumar Sambhav. 

Mussoorie, June 15
A mock drill on disaster management designed to familiarise students and teachers with health officials and community members was held at Nirmala School here today.

The students displayed through drills their readiness to deal with any type of natural disasters, particularly earthquakes. They also showcased the ways to deal with the after-effects of such disasters. Search and rescue drills and extinguishing of fire were also presented on the occasion.

Health officials from Seeds India, EHA, in association with the European Union Commission, shared their expertise on reducing the risks during any disaster. Various drills to provide first-aid to injured persons and then transport them to the hospital were also displayed.

Chief guest MLA, Mussoorie, Jot Singh Gunsola said disaster management course should be included in schools on compulsory basis, as Uttarakhand was the most sensitive zone where disasters like earthquakes could occur any time. He said all schools must have a well-chalked-out disaster management plan and he would suggest to the state government to include it as a course.

Principal Brother Paul C also highlighted the importance of disaster management in schools and how it could save many lives.

European Commission members Yasin Gabba, Aaftab Alam, along with members from the Christian Aid Gordon, and Annie, Rehman, Shivangi, Parag and Dipesh from Seeds India were present on the occasion. 

Dehradun, June 15
Anurag Rana’s lone goal effort brought fruit to Western Boys as it edged past the Adhoiwala Boys Club 1-0 in a league match of the Lala Nemi Das District Football League underway on the Pavilion Ground here today.

Displaying a good game for the delight of the spectators, both teams made good attempts, but no goal came in the first half. However, Anurag in the 45th minute netted a goal to prevail over the Adhoiwala Club in the next half.

The Adhoiwala team gave a good fight in the second half too, but luck didn’t favour it.

Meanwhile, in tomorrow’s match the Sarvodaya Club and the Doon FC are scheduled to meet. 

Dehradun, June 15
XI Star drubbed Garhwal Boys 3-0 in the ongoing District Football League underway in the Police Lines here today.

The players of XI Star shone throughout the match. They played a well-organised game and showed a good team effort. While its rival couldn’t take the advantage of the few opportunity it got in the match.

All three goals for the winning team came in the second half. Sachin netted in the 45th minute to open the account of XI Star. Three minutes after his teammate Mohit (48th) scored the second goal.

Leading with 2-0 XI Star gave no chance to its rival to even net a single goal. While Gopal (68th) increased the score tally of his side with 3-0 to surpass Garhwal Boys.

Tomorrow, Nagar Nigam and the Bajrang Club will play at 3 pm. While Cantt Blue will face the Shivalik Club at 4.30 pm.

Dehradun, June 15
An outstanding performance by Jitender Arya helped DGNS register victory of 26 runs over UP, Kanpur, at Second Basudev Raghav Memorial Mussoorie-Dehradun Challengers Trophy on the Survey Ground here today.

(Top) A batsman hits a shot in the Second Basudev Raghav Memorial Cricket Tournament played at the Survey Grounds in Dehradun on Tuesday and (below) A batsman takes stance to hit the ball in a match of the First Under-16 Cricket Tournament held by St Joseph’s Academy. Tribune photographs

DGNS won the toss and elected to bat first. The team made a score of 120 runs while UP, Kanpur, made a total score of 87 runs.

Opener Vijay of DGNS could make only 2 runs while Jitender scored the highest paving the way for his team’s victory by making 54 runs. In UP, highest scorer who smashed the total runs of 22 was Rajat Rawat.

Dehradun, June 15
The Ajabpur Cricket Academy won by a huge margin of 121 runs trouncing Prem Nagar XI in the ongoing Uttarakhand Challenger Cup at the OFD Stadium here today.

Ajabpur won the toss and opted to bat first and made a huge total of 318 runs. Opening batsmen Yogender (89 off 70) and Vijay (56 off 26) laid a strong foundation for their side. First down batsman Pankaj (36) and second down batman Manish (25) also chipped in.

While Himanshu remained unbeaten on 22. For Prem Nagar, Sanjay and Manoj caught two wickets while Majhar got one wicket.

On their batting term, Prem Nagar could score just 198 runs. Niting Goel (71 off 60) was the mainstay of the team’s innings. Sanjay (32) too scored some runs for the team but were not enough considering the huge target set by the rival team.

For Ajabpur, Vijay was the pick of bowlers claiming five wickets for 42 runs in the seven overs. Rest of the bowlers, Manish, Keshav, Varun and Yogendra pocketed a wicket each to help their team emerge as a winner.